Chapter 1: Stockpiling Three Freshwater Lakes First

Crackle!
The sound of branches exploding in the campfire.

"Ah!"
Cao Bin jolted awake, springing up from the ground, his breath coming in sharp gasps.

Sweat drenched his clothes.

Instinctively, he gripped the dagger hidden in his sleeve; his palm was clammy.

His eyes were bloodshot.

A twisted grimace lingered on his face.

Only when he saw the stylish young woman by the fire, watching him warily, did Cao Bin gradually come back to himself.

It was another nightmare.

For a month now, he’d endured the same torment every night.

The trauma, branded deep in his heart since the end of days.

Cao Bin wiped the cold sweat from his brow, glanced at the woman opposite, and quietly tucked the dagger away.

“Did you have a nightmare?” the woman suddenly asked.

Cao Bin turned aside, picked up the half-empty bottle of mineral water from the small table, and took a shallow sip.

Just enough to moisten his throat.

But it was a habit forged over years of surviving the apocalypse.

In two months’ time, this half bottle of water might be worth more than a human life.

The woman’s gaze lingered on his right hand. Puzzled, she asked, “Do you always carry a dagger with you?”

“When you’re out and about, it’s best to be prepared…” Cao Bin sat up, stretching his limbs, ready to relieve himself nearby.

She frowned. “Is that really necessary nowadays? Look at me, traveling alone on foot, perfectly safe—what danger could there possibly be…”

Before she could finish, Cao Bin casually flicked his wrist.

Whoosh—

A cold gleam flashed through the air.

The dagger embedded itself in the tree stump beside them, humming with vibration.

This was a campsite in a mountain valley.

Well-equipped, pleasant surroundings.

Cao Bin had stopped here while passing through on his motorcycle, planning to rest for the night. He hadn’t expected this young woman to arrive on foot in the middle of the night.

A few minutes later, Cao Bin returned and sat down.

The woman was still eyeing his dagger with great curiosity.

“How did you do that just now?”

She meant his swift, precise throw.

“Practice makes perfect.”
Cao Bin replied calmly as he retrieved the dagger.

The woman fell silent, carefully avoiding his gaze, a hint of fear in her eyes.

Cao Bin paid her little attention.

Eight years, ten months, and eighteen days of apocalyptic survival had exposed him to the darkest sides of humanity. His vigilant mind kept everyone at arm’s length.

If he hadn’t worried that driving her away would attract unwanted attention, he’d have sent her packing already.

No matter how fashionable, attractive, or beautiful she appeared, in the apocalypse, such surface virtues meant less than a loaf of bread.

This time, he was traveling by motorcycle to all his destinations, seeking what he wanted.

Otherwise, he’d have taken the high-speed train, but those required real-name registration now—an easy way for the police to find him before the disaster struck.

Cao Bin lay down again, took out his phone, and checked the date: May eighteenth. Only forty-two days left until that critical turning point.

A little over a month since his rebirth.

At that time, he’d been half-mad—after over eight years of desperate struggle in the apocalypse, those days were like scenes from a living horror film.

He’d thought surviving the first three calamities meant that, with the establishment of human strongholds, society could gradually recover and life could continue. But then came the fourth disaster—a tide of mutated beasts.

Ordinary people stood no chance, and even the authorities’ heavy weapons barely made a dent.

It was then that humanity discovered the secret of genetic mutation.

By obtaining energy crystals, one could evolve.

When he swallowed an energy crystal and confirmed it was true, the people in the safe zone coldly closed the gates.

And so, Cao Bin died.

In his final moments, he seemed to see countless mutant beasts breaching the walls, flooding into the base, wiping away all his efforts in an instant.

But, to his shock, just five seconds after closing his eyes, he opened them again—to find himself back in his university lecture hall, all the pain and memories of his previous life intact.

At that moment, he fell into a frenzy, bursting hysterically from the classroom.

He soon discovered something extraordinary—a vast subspace had appeared within him.

The ability he’d awakened after absorbing the energy crystal had followed him back to the present. With his hard-won leadership experience, Cao Bin set a detailed plan that very night.

With this subspace, he decided to stockpile supplies on a massive scale.

In this world, might makes right. Only the strong have a voice.

This life, he had one goal: to become stronger.

Only then could he obtain everything he desired!

...

The sheer size of Cao Bin’s subspace left him speechless.

It seemed to stretch out endlessly, with no boundary in sight.

But this power was still in its infancy, at the first level. According to information he’d gathered in the apocalypse, a level-one subspace couldn’t yet accommodate living things—only inanimate objects.

However, by continually absorbing energy crystals from mutant beasts, this spatial ability could be upgraded.

Reaching the second level, he’d be able to carry living beings.

Still, Cao Bin considered himself incredibly fortunate. He’d come back before the catastrophe, with three precious months of foreknowledge for preparation.

All he needed to do was hoard supplies with reckless abandon.

In his past life, no one expected the world to collapse overnight. No one stockpiled necessities, not even at the national level—no country could store enough to last through waves of disaster.

In fact, there was no need to wait for the late apocalypse. By the mid-stages of crisis, survivors already faced severe shortages of food and water, with people dying daily from hunger and thirst.

To fight over the dwindling resources, humanity slaughtered itself, and even resorted to unspeakable acts of cannibalism.

Now, seeing the vastness of his subspace, Cao Bin made up his mind: he would hoard supplies to the brink of madness.

His first target was fresh water.

For humanity, water is the most precious element of survival—the core demand.

...

“Oh!” The young woman beside him exclaimed, “The official news just said that recently, Lake Baikal and Lake Poyang have vanished! And now, yesterday, Lake Chao became the third freshwater lake to mysteriously dry up, following the other two.”

Cao Bin, eyes half-closed, didn’t respond.

He’d seen the news—currently, the entire internet was abuzz.

In just forty days, the country’s three largest freshwater lakes had all vanished as if evaporated overnight, sending chills down everyone’s spine.

Countless netizens speculated wildly online—some predicted the end of days, some guessed alien visitors, others imagined ancient monsters sealed beneath the lakes were about to reawaken… Theories ran rampant.

Meanwhile, so-called “experts” all vied to offer explanations, analyzing from geology, meteorology, even traditional geomancy—everyone had an opinion.

But Cao Bin knew the truth.

The lakes had disappeared because of him.

To stock up on fresh water, he’d targeted the three largest lakes in the country.

What he hadn’t expected was that using the subspace to store things consumed enormous mental energy. As an ordinary human, each time he drew water with all his strength, he needed a day of sleep to recover.

Over two months, day and night, he had drained these three lakes dry.

In the precious month ahead, his plan was to focus his full efforts on storing other necessities—clothing, food, shelter, transportation, everything needed for survival.

With such a vast subspace, he would fill it to the brim.

“Sigh.” The fashionable young woman couldn’t help but try to chat again: “Do you think the drying up of all these lakes really means the end of the world is coming?”

“It’s a real possibility,” Cao Bin nodded.

She thought he was joking, and laughed, “So you’re a doomsday believer too?”

“You could say that,” Cao Bin replied.

She gave a little sigh and, with a hint of regret, said, “If the world really ends, and I’m still a virgin, that would be such a waste.”

A glint flashed in Cao Bin’s eyes. It’s said that when you travel, you’re likely to have a romantic encounter—was it finally his turn today?